Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure
Added March 7th, 2006 by Sallizar
Introduction:
Everyday on my way to work I drive past a railroad spur that usually has four or five box cars on it waiting to be unloaded. It’s become kind of a rotating art exhibit for me, because there is usually some sort of graffiti to be found on most of the cars. I’m always amazed at what people can create with just a simple aerosol spray paint can. I’m ok at spraying a solid object all the same color with no drips, but spraying graffiti seems like something you just have to be born to do. While, I do appreciate the talent graffiti artists display, it is a form of vandalism that law enforcement and local governments don’t take lightly. All these themes show up in Mark Ecko’s Getting Up Contents Under Pressure. The game has been surrounded by controversy the last few months because of its focus on an illegal activity. Some cities, even entire nations, have called for an outright ban of the game. The controversy intrigued me so I decided to see what all the fuss over Getting Up was about.
Gameplay:
Getting Up starts with Trane (the “hero”) and a mystery woman tussling on the side of a blimp. It’s the old “everything from here on out is a flashback leading up to this moment” stunt. I’m not the biggest fan of that style of story but in Getting Up it works quite well. After the blimp scene, the flashback begins with Trane, short for Coltrane, leaving home because his grandmother is riding his case about his penchant for writing graffiti. A short tutorial later, Trane gets the crap kicked out of him by a local gang. Trane takes it personally and decides to seek revenge.
Everyday on my way to work I drive past a railroad spur that usually has four or five box cars on it waiting to be unloaded. It’s become kind of a rotating art exhibit for me, because there is usually some sort of graffiti to be found on most of the cars. I’m always amazed at what people can create with just a simple aerosol spray paint can. I’m ok at spraying a solid object all the same color with no drips, but spraying graffiti seems like something you just have to be born to do. While, I do appreciate the talent graffiti artists display, it is a form of vandalism that law enforcement and local governments don’t take lightly. All these themes show up in Mark Ecko’s Getting Up Contents Under Pressure. The game has been surrounded by controversy the last few months because of its focus on an illegal activity. Some cities, even entire nations, have called for an outright ban of the game. The controversy intrigued me so I decided to see what all the fuss over Getting Up was about.
Gameplay:
Getting Up starts with Trane (the “hero”) and a mystery woman tussling on the side of a blimp. It’s the old “everything from here on out is a flashback leading up to this moment” stunt. I’m not the biggest fan of that style of story but in Getting Up it works quite well. After the blimp scene, the flashback begins with Trane, short for Coltrane, leaving home because his grandmother is riding his case about his penchant for writing graffiti. A short tutorial later, Trane gets the crap kicked out of him by a local gang. Trane takes it personally and decides to seek revenge.
So how does one go about getting revenge in the shiny near future themed city of New Radius? By spray painting your graffiti over the other person’s graffiti, of course. Well, that and putting a serious beat down on any rival gang members you happen to run across. The story evolves from its ho-hum one man gang war beginnings into a fairly interesting anti-government tale as the local law enforcement cracks down on graffiti artists.
The game is broken up into various sections of New Radius that are then subdivided into two to four levels that all take place in that area. Each level has a certain set of objectives, usually various places in the level that Trane must decorate, along with bonus objectives. Finding these objectives is tied right into the storyline. Trane has a sort of intuition as to what parts of the city would look best with his art on them. In game this translates into an orange hued first person view used to highlight various areas of the level with X shaped marks. Orange Xs are the main objectives and blue Xs are the bonus areas.
So now Trane knows where he should “get up” but knowing is only half the battle. Since each area is patrolled by rival gang members or the heavily armored CCK law enforcement officers, you’ll have several options. My favorite option is jumping out from the shadows with a lead pipe or a spiked baseball bat and taking out all the guards so I can tag the objectives in peace. You could also use stealth and knock the guards out with a spray can bonk to the back of the head if you prefer. Since, most of the areas you’ll be vandalizing are fairly high up you can also use some creative acrobats to avoid the guards all together and get your name up right under (or should I say “over”) their noses.
Now that you’ve made it to the objective it’s time to make it your own. Trane has a wide variety of styles of graffiti but the majority of the time it comes down to the classic spray paint tag. When you approach an object you can write on an outline of the final product appears. Before painting you can select between a small and a large size creation. “Going large” scores more reputation points but can be harder to accomplish if guards or spotlights are patrolling the area near the objective. After selecting a size you hold the right trigger to enter “painting mode” and a timer commences as soon as you start painting. Again, reputation points are at stake, so paint fast. Painting consists of holding down X or Y (early in the game you unlock the ability to paint faster by using Y) and moving the right analog stick to fill in the outline. If you stay in one spot too long it begins to glow red and if you’re not careful your creation will be marred by a sloppy looking drip. Besides being ugly, drips prevent you from acquiring extra reputation points.
To mix things up a bit, there are occasional boss fights and a few action sequences. Some of the best levels in the game take place with Trane hanging on the side of a subway car as it careens down a tunnel lined with obstacles. The whole sequence is a tense affair as you climb over the top of the subway cars narrowly avoiding lights and low tunnels while attempting to add your own special artistic touch to the side of each car.
Graphics:
For a multiplatform game the Xbox version of Getting Up looks good. Characters are well designed and appear fairly detailed in the in-engine cut scenes and during gameplay. Levels are relatively small, but packed with multiple possible routes to the various objectives. Each area of the game also has its own distinctive personality, so you never become bored with the scenery. The pre-rendered cut scenes have an incredibly artsy flair and are a nice treat. The art direction is also astounding with a huge variety of impressive graffiti, posters, stickers and murals.
The game is broken up into various sections of New Radius that are then subdivided into two to four levels that all take place in that area. Each level has a certain set of objectives, usually various places in the level that Trane must decorate, along with bonus objectives. Finding these objectives is tied right into the storyline. Trane has a sort of intuition as to what parts of the city would look best with his art on them. In game this translates into an orange hued first person view used to highlight various areas of the level with X shaped marks. Orange Xs are the main objectives and blue Xs are the bonus areas.
So now Trane knows where he should “get up” but knowing is only half the battle. Since each area is patrolled by rival gang members or the heavily armored CCK law enforcement officers, you’ll have several options. My favorite option is jumping out from the shadows with a lead pipe or a spiked baseball bat and taking out all the guards so I can tag the objectives in peace. You could also use stealth and knock the guards out with a spray can bonk to the back of the head if you prefer. Since, most of the areas you’ll be vandalizing are fairly high up you can also use some creative acrobats to avoid the guards all together and get your name up right under (or should I say “over”) their noses.
Now that you’ve made it to the objective it’s time to make it your own. Trane has a wide variety of styles of graffiti but the majority of the time it comes down to the classic spray paint tag. When you approach an object you can write on an outline of the final product appears. Before painting you can select between a small and a large size creation. “Going large” scores more reputation points but can be harder to accomplish if guards or spotlights are patrolling the area near the objective. After selecting a size you hold the right trigger to enter “painting mode” and a timer commences as soon as you start painting. Again, reputation points are at stake, so paint fast. Painting consists of holding down X or Y (early in the game you unlock the ability to paint faster by using Y) and moving the right analog stick to fill in the outline. If you stay in one spot too long it begins to glow red and if you’re not careful your creation will be marred by a sloppy looking drip. Besides being ugly, drips prevent you from acquiring extra reputation points.
To mix things up a bit, there are occasional boss fights and a few action sequences. Some of the best levels in the game take place with Trane hanging on the side of a subway car as it careens down a tunnel lined with obstacles. The whole sequence is a tense affair as you climb over the top of the subway cars narrowly avoiding lights and low tunnels while attempting to add your own special artistic touch to the side of each car.
Graphics:
For a multiplatform game the Xbox version of Getting Up looks good. Characters are well designed and appear fairly detailed in the in-engine cut scenes and during gameplay. Levels are relatively small, but packed with multiple possible routes to the various objectives. Each area of the game also has its own distinctive personality, so you never become bored with the scenery. The pre-rendered cut scenes have an incredibly artsy flair and are a nice treat. The art direction is also astounding with a huge variety of impressive graffiti, posters, stickers and murals.
Unfortunately, the game did have a few quirks. There was a good bit of clipping in various sections of the game, even in one of the in-engine cut scenes. There are also the camera issues. There are quite a few times when the camera is taken from the player’s control and switches to a cinematic view of the area. For example, in a level that takes place in a subway train yard, Trane has to tag a car that is occasionally being scanned by a machine gun equipped spotlight. When you start to spray the subway car the camera switches to an overhead view of the area so you can spray and be mindful of the soon to be approaching spotlight of doom. The issue occurs when you see the spotlight coming, as the developer intended, and then attempt to stop spraying so you can dodge the light. The camera switches back to the original view and for a split second you can become disoriented. More than once I was the victim of camera changes that threw me right into a situation I was trying to avoid. It’s not a deal breaker, but it can be very frustrating.
Audio:
If you’ve heard one urban themed game’s soundtrack, you’ve heard them all. It fits the game, but I would have liked a custom soundtrack option. In-game effects, such as the unmistakable sound of someone shaking a spray paint can, all sound great. Voice acting is a mixed bag. Talib Kweli does an outstanding job of voicing Trane, but it’s somewhat downhill from there. Brittany Murphy has a strange stilted way of doing Karen Light’s (a TV news reporter) lines. I’m not sure if it’s a parody of talking head media networks or if she just wasn’t trying. The various graffiti legends you’ll meet throughout the game also sound like it’s just some guy talking into a microphone. Well, I guess that is what’s going on with those characters, but it can break the player’s suspension of disbelief for a second when the legends start giving Trane advice that sounds as if it’s coming out of a drive thru speaker.
Controls:
I fought with the controls in Getting Up a bit more than I felt was necessary. The biggest issue seems to be that they tried to make Trane a bit too smart. Anytime Trane bumps into something he can climb, by george he’s going to try to climb the darn thing. Here’s a scenario. I’m trying to sneak around the side of a parked subway car past a guard. “No Trane, don’t climb on the car where the guard will see you!” The guard spots me so I decide to vault up to the top of the car and then jump from car to car until I reach the third car in line and slide down the side narrowly avoiding a spotlight. “No Trane, don’t try to jump back up on top of the car where the spotlight will see you!” This instigates a sequence of Trane climbing onto the roof of the car, being shot by the spotlight, climbing back down, and then repeating the dance with the spotlight again. After three attempts to get him to climb down instead of up I finally got him back on the ground just in time to run into the guard I was trying to initially avoid.
While Trane has a penchant for grabbing anything and everything when he’s exploring getting him to grab someone with the fighting controls is a little tougher. Brawling in Getting Up is fairly straight forward. X is punch, Y is kick and various combinations of the two perform special moves. Grabs are accomplished by hitting X and Y at the same time. The timing on the button push seems a bit too precise and I often found myself throwing an errant punch or kick when I attempted a grab. You also have insult moves, throws and wall attacks, but I found myself simply dodging attacks then following up with a three punch or three kick combo while the opponent’s defenses were down. If you feel like learning more interesting moves the option is there, but the entire game can be completed, including boss fights, with brainless button mashing.
Replay:
Wow. Getting Up is incredibly easy. There are plenty of health power ups scattered throughout the game and I only died one time (due to a cheap move I didn’t expect) during the final boss fight. Even without completing all the bonus objectives I still unlocked almost all of the content in the game on my first play through. While I enjoyed the twelve to fifteen hours it took to finish the game, I doubt that I will ever replay it.
Audio:
If you’ve heard one urban themed game’s soundtrack, you’ve heard them all. It fits the game, but I would have liked a custom soundtrack option. In-game effects, such as the unmistakable sound of someone shaking a spray paint can, all sound great. Voice acting is a mixed bag. Talib Kweli does an outstanding job of voicing Trane, but it’s somewhat downhill from there. Brittany Murphy has a strange stilted way of doing Karen Light’s (a TV news reporter) lines. I’m not sure if it’s a parody of talking head media networks or if she just wasn’t trying. The various graffiti legends you’ll meet throughout the game also sound like it’s just some guy talking into a microphone. Well, I guess that is what’s going on with those characters, but it can break the player’s suspension of disbelief for a second when the legends start giving Trane advice that sounds as if it’s coming out of a drive thru speaker.
Controls:
I fought with the controls in Getting Up a bit more than I felt was necessary. The biggest issue seems to be that they tried to make Trane a bit too smart. Anytime Trane bumps into something he can climb, by george he’s going to try to climb the darn thing. Here’s a scenario. I’m trying to sneak around the side of a parked subway car past a guard. “No Trane, don’t climb on the car where the guard will see you!” The guard spots me so I decide to vault up to the top of the car and then jump from car to car until I reach the third car in line and slide down the side narrowly avoiding a spotlight. “No Trane, don’t try to jump back up on top of the car where the spotlight will see you!” This instigates a sequence of Trane climbing onto the roof of the car, being shot by the spotlight, climbing back down, and then repeating the dance with the spotlight again. After three attempts to get him to climb down instead of up I finally got him back on the ground just in time to run into the guard I was trying to initially avoid.
While Trane has a penchant for grabbing anything and everything when he’s exploring getting him to grab someone with the fighting controls is a little tougher. Brawling in Getting Up is fairly straight forward. X is punch, Y is kick and various combinations of the two perform special moves. Grabs are accomplished by hitting X and Y at the same time. The timing on the button push seems a bit too precise and I often found myself throwing an errant punch or kick when I attempted a grab. You also have insult moves, throws and wall attacks, but I found myself simply dodging attacks then following up with a three punch or three kick combo while the opponent’s defenses were down. If you feel like learning more interesting moves the option is there, but the entire game can be completed, including boss fights, with brainless button mashing.
Replay:
Wow. Getting Up is incredibly easy. There are plenty of health power ups scattered throughout the game and I only died one time (due to a cheap move I didn’t expect) during the final boss fight. Even without completing all the bonus objectives I still unlocked almost all of the content in the game on my first play through. While I enjoyed the twelve to fifteen hours it took to finish the game, I doubt that I will ever replay it.
Summary:
Getting Up has it share of technical issues and is over almost as soon as it starts, but it’s an interesting game with an intriguing plot. I’ve spent the last week playing it and contrary to what some folks may think I have no interest in vandalizing my neighborhood. What I am interested in is what Mark Ecko has up his sleeve for his next gaming project. For his first time out, Getting Up is a pretty solid project. I highly recommend the game to anyone interested in the graffiti and street art movement. On the other hand if you’re like me and your only interest in graffiti is the artwork you see on the way to work, then I’d suggest a rental just to see what all the fuss is about.
Getting Up has it share of technical issues and is over almost as soon as it starts, but it’s an interesting game with an intriguing plot. I’ve spent the last week playing it and contrary to what some folks may think I have no interest in vandalizing my neighborhood. What I am interested in is what Mark Ecko has up his sleeve for his next gaming project. For his first time out, Getting Up is a pretty solid project. I highly recommend the game to anyone interested in the graffiti and street art movement. On the other hand if you’re like me and your only interest in graffiti is the artwork you see on the way to work, then I’d suggest a rental just to see what all the fuss is about.
